Marriage equality in New Jersey!

Two states were in the news this week with marriage equality.

As I wrote in a post last week, a federal judge in Michigan was going to consider Michigan's ban on gay marriage. As is common in many cases around equality, he punted, saying he would hear arguments in February. Seriously. February.

Yet on Friday of this week the New Jersey State Supreme Court did not punt and let a lower court judge's ruling that marriages could begin while the issue of marriage equality was in the courts. Marriages can begin this Monday!

Here at home in Colorado marriage for Mike and I is still not a reality, and most likely won't be for some time. Many people say to us, "I just don't get why it is not legal". We definitely feel the same way. Yet when we look around and still see those who support equality not expressing themselves at the voting booth while the religious extremists and bigots do, then it makes sense.

We have to be a voice for equality. We cannot let the religious extremists in this country have say over which Americans should have rights and which shouldn't. It's bad enough that they have so much power in Congress. We need to take their power away.

Whew, from Michigan to New Jersey to Congress all in a few paragraphs.

We are sending loads of love to our brothers and sisters in Jersey who very soon will have legal marriage!

Thanks for reading!

A shut down government

After a month of writing for Vegan Mofo, I am super excited to be writing about other things now, like the government shutdown.

What does the government shutdown have to do with The Gay Vegans?

Everything!

One of the issues I write about is asking people to get involved more politically. Get to know who represents you at your state capitol and find out who represents you in Washington, D.C. For those of us always trying to be a voice for the voiceless, I believe it's important to show up in politics.

Some disagree and that's cool.

So now we have another mess in DC. A lot of name calling and pointing fingers, it's like a drag show gone bad.

I believe that there are many in Congress who just don't give a shit about anyone. They want what they want and that is all they are interested in. And they have the power to shut down the government.

My entire life I have always been totally open to sitting down with people that I disagree with. It's not difficult. I can shut up long enough to listen to another's point of view and they can do the same. We will probably continue to disagree, yet have a good chance of agreeing to some things. In the end, I believe that we all have much more in common than not.

Those in Congress need to hear from us. Not just now; all of the time.

If you are an activist, a voice for the voiceless, an advocate for making the world a better place for all living beings I urge you to consider letting those who represent you at all levels know who you are and what you support and don't support.

We all deserve better than what we are getting. We can complain about what folks are not doing or we can take action.

If you need help finding out who represents you, check out this website: www.votesmart.org

Meanwhile, there are people who are suffering because of this shutdown. It's a good time for us to reach out to friends and family who might be bale to use some help, including a hug.

Thanks for reading!

Election is over - Time to get involved

Several years ago Mike and I were renting a home for a year while we looked for our perfect place. We met a couple who was going to backpack the world for a year and it all worked out for us to live in their home. We loved it.

There was one problem: the neighbors.

They kept their dog chained outside. All the time.

We tried to be a voice for the dog, no luck. So I called our city councilwoman to see if there was a law being broken. The dog had shelter and access to food and water and that was all that the law required.

Eventually the neighbor took the dog off the chain. And the city councilwoman began a process of seeing if the city law was enough to care for dogs who are kept outside. 

Those of us who are voices for the voiceless, who fight for animal rights, human rights and equality, have an opportunity to be an even stronger voice. It's called politics.

This isn't the first time you have read about this on our blog. I firmly believe in being politically active. Not just voting, but communicating with and getting to know those who represent you on city council, in the state house, the state senate and even the US Congress. Better yet, I love getting to the point when an elected official knows me and what I stand for and what is important to me.

Don't know who represents you on these levels? I have you covered. Just go to this website and type in your zip code: http://votesmart.org/

Most of the laws that affect us in our daily lives are state laws. The opportunity to help animals, the homeless, battered women or to support equality can all start at your state capitol. Love organic vegetables? Let your state representative know? Abhor animal cruelty? Email your state senator. Want more bike lanes or less access to assault weapons? Call them both!

It really can make a difference.

In Colorado our 2013 session begins next week. Our sessions run from January to May. This week I emailed my state representative reminding him how Mike and feel about certain issues that might be voted on this session, and additional reminders about other issues important to us just in case they are brought up.

The time is now to get involved.

Thank you for reading!

A new day - The 2012 Election

Mike and I were surrounded by friends, enjoying vegan tamales (with vegan mole!) and sangria at our election night party when we heard that Ohio had gone for the President and news organizations began calling the Presidential election for President Obama.

I was ecstatic.

And I still am. As we continued to watch the results that night and then also the next morning, it became clear that, based on our opinions, election night had produced some wonderful results:

President Barack Obama was re-elected. This was huge for us based on equality, women's rights, veteran care and the economy. It is great having a President who supports our marriage.

The Colorado State House became Democratic again. As of right now it is 38 to 27. What this means is that we are likely to have our first openly gay Speaker of the House in Colorado and any civil unions bill presented is sure to pass. The Republican house leadership has stopped it for a couple of years, even though there were enough votes for it to pass if it got to a floor vote.

Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay member of the US Senate, representing Wisconsin. I take issue with her past support of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and how that has affected animal activists, yet I am still happy for her. 

Gay marriage passed in Maine and Maryland. This means these states actually voted on whether to legalize gay marriage, and they both said YES! In Washington state, voters approved marriage equality as well, supporting a law signed by the governor earlier in the year.

An anti-gay amendment to the Minnesota constitution was defeated.

Our US Congressman, Ed Perlmutter, and our State Rep, Max Tyler, were both re-elected.

Amendment 64, which legalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana in Colorado, passed. Even though political "leaders" were all against this, it passed. I am happy just for that, but also because I believe marijuana should be legalized (and the sale of it taxed). Too many people around the world die because of drugs being illegal.

In our county, Jefferson County, voters approved 3A and 3B which will raise tax revenues for our public schools.

Tea party scum in Indiana and Missouri were soundly defeated. I'm sure elsewhere too. It was a good night for religious extremists in this country.

Lots and lots of people voted. They waited forever in line to vote. They disputed being told they could not vote. They made sure their voice was going to be heard.

What was your favorite result of the election?

Before I close, I want to say thank you to our blog readers for putting up with our blogs written about the election. This election was just too important not to write about, or not to share who we supported and why. I'm sure it wasn't fun for all of our readers, but thanks for sticking with us and especially thanks for supporting us.

And thank you for reading this post!